# M. Patrigent — File No. 113 character guide

> M. Patrigent in File No. 113 by Émile Gaboriau.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A magistrate of tireless, glacial patience, M. Patrigent decides the fate of the accused from a dim office at the end of a corridor of misery.

## Who they are

Patrigent embodies the examining magistrate's ideal: unhurried, methodical, and willing to spend years untangling a case rather than risk a hasty judgment. Yet his very thoroughness can look like slowness to those awaiting his verdict, and the gallery outside his door—crowded with the accused and their weeping families—is a purgatory in its own right. When Prosper Bertomy is finally called into his office, the young cashier's freedom rests entirely on this patient, deliberate man's reading of the evidence.

## In the story

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/iv)

Presides over the examination, gathers witness testimony, and becomes convinced of Prosper's guilt.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/v)

The judge interrogating Prosper, using psychological tactics to extract a confession.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/characters/patrigent
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/characters